Discovery of ‘Achilles heel’ in gut bacteria may lead to targeted therapies for Crohn’s disease
The discovery of an "Achilles heel" in a type of gut bacteria that causes intestinal inflammation in patients with Crohn's disease may lead to more targeted therapies for the difficult to treat disease, according to Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian investigators.
In a study published Feb. 3 in
Cell Host and Microbe, the investigators showed that patients with Crohn's disease have an overabundance of a type of gut bacteria called adherent-invasive Escherichia coli (AIEC), which promotes inflammation in the intestine. Their experiments revealed that a metabolite produced by the bacteria interacts with immune system cells in the lining of the intestine, triggering inflammation. Interfering with this process, by either reducing the bacteria's food supply or eliminating a key enzyme in the process relieved gut inflammation in a mouse model of Crohn's disease.